


The Right Choice

by OliveTheClimber



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Depression, F/F, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Bay Ending, Post-Canon, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OliveTheClimber/pseuds/OliveTheClimber
Summary: Max has felt alone and broken since Chloe's death. The void of hollowness has consumed her and now she's making a choice. A choice to say goodbye to this echoing pain within her. She would make the right choice this time. And she'll see Chloe again. Real soon.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	The Right Choice

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, what's this? Another LiS thing from me? In 2020? What is this madness? I was feeling pretty down, and this idea has been swirling around in my head for a few months so I decided to turn it into a short fic. I channeled all my own depressions and anxieties to make this happen. Hopefully I can make a few more one-shots taking place in this continuity, so consider this either a single one-off or the first in a few entries. It was fun to write some Life is Strange stuff after so long of not writing it! I hope you all enjoy it, and if you do let me know what other ideas in this continuity you'd like to see!

What was she feeling right now? Anger? Regret? Shame? It was all of those. But mostly shame. It was a decision she should not have had to make, but it was one she instinctively regretted the moment it happened. And that sentiment only worsened more and more this past week. From waking up in a funeral, everything was just… way too much. It was unfair. Why did any of this have to happen to her?

Max sniffled a little bit, sitting on the floor of her dorm room. It had been a week since Chloe’s funeral, and Max had barely left her room following it. She thought she might be okay. Might be able to move on. But… maybe all of that was simply wishful thinking on Max’s part. Chloe Price was gone. In front of her was a box full of memories. Ones of her and Chloe so long ago that it felt like another lifetime. Perhaps that’s because it was. Chloe’s lifetime was over now.

Why did she do any of this? Chloe didn’t deserve to die. She simply didn’t. Chloe was a victim of the world. A victim of Nathan Prescott and of Mark Jefferson, though no one would ever know. Who did Max even blame for any of this? Herself. She chose to let Chloe die in a moment of weakness, thinking that Chloe needed to martyr herself. But the more she thought about it, the more it didn’t sit right with her.

The Chloe who died was not her Chloe. The Chloe who died was a Chloe thinking she was worthless. Someone who had to hear the words nobody would miss her and most likely believe it as her life was sucked out of her by a horribly monstrous rich person who cared nothing for the safety of others. Chloe died thinking everyone, including Max, hated her.

When the storm was coming, Max thought about ripping the butterfly photo in half and letting it flutter into the wind. On the floor below her was that photo, still in pristine condition, taken several moments before Chloe Price would be shot and killed by Nathan Prescott. 

It only took a day for Max to start losing it. All of her memories were real and now she was stuck with them on her own. This timeline meant that Max never suffered under Jefferson’s abuse. It meant that she was never his victim of the Dark Room. It meant that the entire week she spent with Chloe never happened. And Max? Max felt horrible every single moment of every single day. 

Not a single breath went by without Max feeling anxious pain all over her body. It felt like every muscle in her body was always tense and ready to fall apart. It was excruciatingly painful. The feeling of anxiety and emptiness went together like two peas in a pod. When Max wasn’t feeling too anxious she was feeling empty and depressed. And vice versa. All of this because Max left Chloe to rot. Because it was the “right thing to do.”

Max could barely hold back tears with Joyce the day after Chloe’s funeral. It was the last time she was outside of her room, and Max saw the loneliness and death in Joyce’s eyes. She lost both William and Chloe in the span of five years, and Joyce’s face let Max know one thing. She would have rather died than Chloe. And Max knew that to be true. How horrific it must be to outlive your child.

Max didn’t ask for these powers. It made her angry. She didn’t ask for these powers when she rewound for the first time. They happened on their own and then Chloe has to be punished for it? Max had to let Chloe die for something that wasn’t their fault? It made Max angrier than anything else. It was unfair. Chloe didn’t deserve to die. Chloe deserves to live. Chloe made it clear that she cared for Max more than anything or anyone else. Max wanted to keep Chloe safe and alive at all costs, but all it took was a moment of weakness. 

To hear Chloe say she wanted to die. As if that was all she was worth, a human sacrifice to the angry tornado god to save the people she loved. 

Max knew one thing would happen. The world would move forward. But she, herself, would not. She could feel it boiling up inside of her, almost like a million raves stalking her thoughts every single moment. All of them cawing at her, making it known that she too would soon join Chloe. 

Her heart started beating faster. It hurt. Hurt body was in pain all the time now because of the anxiety. It was becoming too much. Her breathing became unstable, as if there was no air going into her body on some breaths. She would not be able to keep this up for the rest of her life. She knew that more than anything else. All Max wanted was to be held in Chloe’s arms. To be let known that everything will be okay. 

Why would they be okay? Because they were Chloe and Max. And they would always be okay if they had each other. Max couldn’t help but let out a sob at the thought of it. Why did she have to play hero? Why did Chloe always have to die when she didn’t deserve it? Why do Nathan and Jefferson get to live? Why? Why? WHY?!

Max took a few shaky inhales in order to capture her breath. It was steady, yet shaky. She knew what she was going to do. It was selfish. But she knew the outcome now. The outcome has broken Max, and she’s done playing the selfless hero who has to stop the serial kidnappers. For just this moment, Max is gonna choose what she feels is right instead of letting other people decide it for her. 

To her side was her teddy bear. She sniffled a bit and grabbed him, before hugging him tight to her body. She needed his support now more than ever. It was a moment of peaceful reprieve, as she held him on her lap before picking up the photo of the butterfly. For just a moment she was going to be selfish. 

Her mind focused and eyes closed, she pushed away the thoughts of silent isolation and anxiety. She made her mind pointed at one thing, the photograph of the butterfly. All noise in the dorms vanished as the sounds of Nathan and Chloe arguing became louder and more overwhelming. And within a few moments of concentration, Max opened her eyes. It was the bathroom. She knew one thing though. This was truly a one way trip.

The sounds of Chloe’s angry and pissed off voice made Max feel… happy. Not that she was being threatened, but because she was hearing Chloe’s voice again. It helped to melt away her anxiety and further her confidence in what she was doing. Saving Chloe. Permanently this time.

While the shining light of the photo made their voices a bit distorted, it didn’t take any time at all for Max to recreate the scenario in which she had done the first time. By now, every single word the two uttered at one another was burned into Max’s memory. She knew exactly when to do what she needed. As Nathan and Chloe yelled at one another, Max picked up the hammer for the fire alarm off the ground. When the argument reached its climax, Max shattered the glass and did not hesitate in hitting the alarm with her hand.

She heard Nathan get kneed in the stomach.

“Don’t EVER touch me again, freak!” Chloe yelled angrily, her voice filled with rage and venom. The door shut behind Chloe as she left the room. Max smiled. She didn’t need to focus on anything else except hoping that everything would work out. She hoped. Suddenly, the world warped around her as light overcame Max’s being and all she could see was whiteness and all she could hear was a quiet hum.

The void and the hum only lasted for a few moments, like it usually did, though Max felt that it took much longer to return to the present. Alone with her thoughts, for once in her life, she knew that she had done the right thing. Chloe didn’t die in the bathroom. Chloe didn’t die. She didn’t die.

Those thoughts overwhelmingly hit hard when the world suddenly recolored in Max’s eyes. The first thing she felt was a bed underneath her, with heavy blankets on top keeping her warm. Then came the smell. It was the smell of home. Her home in Seattle with her parents. She grumbled a bit as the world came fully into focus. It was indeed her bedroom in Seattle, just the way she had left it when she had originally left for Arcadia Bay. Though perhaps it wasn’t left the EXACT same way.

On the floor, strewn about, were many more blankets and pillows, some half built into a fort. Max’s laptop sat on the floor, propped up a bit on some books so that it didn’t overheat. But there was…. Where was she? No… No… please she didn’t do this… no… no… Max could feel herself beginning to hyperventilate again, the ever painful soreness in her upper body beginning to strain hard on her.

It wasn’t fair. Chloe should be here. Chloe survived. Chloe didn’t die. Did she do all of this to be left in the darkness once more? Why did her powers not come with some sort of training manual?! Once more, Max was unable to keep her breaths steady and she began to shake and rock.

“You know, Max, your dad is being really selfish with the blankets, saying we’re hogging them all!” Chloe said, opening the door to Max’s bedroom, a few more blankets in her arms. “He doesn’t think that we need mo--.”

Chloe? Was that… Chloe? Or was it her imagination?The person in front of her dropped the blankets to the floor. It was Chloe. The real actual Chloe. She was dressed in her tank top and had black flannel pants on. Max noticed her beanie was hanging on the door knob of the room, but… it was Chloe. She had concern painted all over her place. It didn’t take long for Chloe to start bounding over to Max.

“Hey, hey, hey I’m right here Super Max. Remember you just need to take some deep breaths. I’m right here, okay?” Chloe grabbed Max’s hand that was resting on the blanket. Max was too in shock and just did as Chloe told her. Deep breaths on a timer. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. And breathe out. Eventually Max was steady again, and Chloe gave a soft smile to her. “What happened while I was gone? Did you think about Jefferson or the storm again?” Max’s look of confusion only made Chloe more determined. “Max, I’m gonna ask okay? What happened?”

“C… Chloe I… I… I’m so sorry Chloe.” Max would have broken down then and there, but she couldn’t. Her body felt incapable of crying. She thought that this iteration of her must have cried a lot in the past week since the storm. Chloe didn’t spend any time moving closer and hugging her. “I just… I didn’t know it would hurt so much… I didn’t know what was right and what was wrong! And I just… I had to get you back…!”

“Hey, hey, hey Max keep calm before you can’t breathe again, okay?” Chloe said in a calm voice. Max nodded. “We promised each other that if either of us broke down, the other would keep us calm, right? Though… you’re a slightly different Max, aren’t you?”

Max felt destroyed. But she nodded slowly.

“You convinced me… but I couldn’t keep going Chloe. I thought that’s what you wanted and I didn’t want to go against you. I thought it was the right choice… I just… I needed you again. Every time I closed my eyes it was either you dying or Jefferson mocking me in the Dark Room.” Max hiccuped a bit. “I couldn’t do it anymore. I thought I could. Everyone told me I’d feel better, but I never did. It was so alienating! I was so alone and everything got worse and worse and wor--.”

Chloe stopped Max with a small kiss. It was not forceful or hot and passionate. It was calming. Chloe’s lips against hers made her feel safe from the darkness that’s been knocking at her door for the past week. The blue-haired girl pulled away after a few moments, and ran her hand through Max’s hair.

“Listen here, Max, because I’m only gonna tell you once. I’m mad. I was going to be fine with whatever decision you made, because I thought you would know best…” Chloe noticed the near tear breaking face in front of her and she quickly slapped herself. “I meant I’m mad at myself Max! Fuck. I really screwed the pooch, huh? I didn’t… I didn’t know what to do either.”

“You didn’t?” Max’s runny nose sniffled a bit.

“Not really. In that moment at the lighthouse, I thought that it might make your life easier if I was gone. Everyone would have an easier life. But then you chose me…”

“But for me I chose to sac-!” Max was about to continue, but was cut off by Chloe’s index finger pushing against her lips to make her quiet.

“You still chose me in the end, Max. You chose me knowing it would be a one-way ticket this time. I was so caught up in what I thought you wanted… I guess I didn’t think to wonder what you actually wanted.” Chloe frowned, her hands on Max’s shoulders.

“I just wanted you.” Max put her hand on Chloe’s. “I missed you so much in that week. I didn’t think I’d survive any longer.”

“Well… you did. You’re right here with me, Max. I’m sorry I made you have a week of that pain. Now it’s got even more pain too.” Chloe grabbed Max into another hug. The time rewinding girl felt right. Even if her mind was all over the place with anxiety, there was a calming center in her. Chloe was back with her. And nothing would change that. There was no more photo and no more means to double think her choice. This was the right choice. Chloe was always the right choice for her.

“S-s-so… Chloe w-what were we doing?” Max asked, looking at the multitude of blankets. Chloe smirked at that. A powerful smile so full of love and joy, one that Max would never trade for anything else in the world.

“Someone illegally downloaded a bunch of our favorite movies from when we were younger. Someone also wanted to huddle up in a pillow fort and watch them all night because it would be fun!” Chloe didn’t take much time in lifting Max out of bed. Guess that was what she got for being short. “You feeling up for it, though?”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Max was able to finally smile with a genuine love in her heart.

“More than anything else, Chloe.”


End file.
